Chicago Cubs

Some potentially interesting Sunday morning hot stove tweets … Teams have inquired about StarterJeff Samardzija. Source: Toronto putting together package of young players. — Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) November 23, 2013 Alex Anthopolous won’t comment on specifics but they are exploring starters with teams…we have NOT made an offer to anybody regarding a SP — JIM…

It’s the catcher market that has moved the most quickly in free agency this winter, with Brian McCann becoming the first elite free agent to come to terms, agreeing to a five-year, $85 million deal with the Yankees on Saturday. The other catcher deals: Carlos Ruiz – Phillies (three years, $26 million) Geovany Soto –…

Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that Cubs catcher Welington Castillo underwent arthroscopic surgery — as scheduled — this weekend on his banged-up right knee. The procedure was deemed a success and Castillo is expected to be fully recovered in 4-6 weeks. The 26-year-old Dominican hit .274/.349/.397 with eight home runs and 32 RBI…

Daniel Bard is healthy and hoping to reestablish himself in the Puerto Rican Winter League. But the experiment is not off to a very promising start. According to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com, the 28-year-old walked five batters and gave up three earned runs Saturday in his third appearance for Criollos de Caguas. He threw multiple…

David Kaplan is reporting that the Cubs have approached starter Jeff Samardzija to get the ball rolling on a contract extension. The right-hander, who turns 29 in January, can become a free agent after the 2015 season. Samardzija wrapped up 2013 with a 4.34 ERA in a career-high 213.2 innings of work, his second year…

Buster Olney of ESPN.com has a juicy rumor, reporting that the Diamondbacks and Cubs are talking about a potential Jeff Samardzija trade after previously engaging in some talks around the trade deadline. Samardzija is 29 years old and under team control for 2014 and 2015, but he’s about to get expensive via arbitration and failed…

This year’s annual free agents column has expanded to a top 150, though I’m writing up just the top 55 (it was going to be 50, but I couldn’t help myself). The rest are presented in a list. Not included are players whose contract options are sure to be exercised. Players are ranked based not…

Let’s go down the list: AL, catcher: Matt Wieters, Joe Mauer, Salvador Perez Mauer is still the AL’s best defensive catcher, but he played a mere 660 innings behind the plate this year, compared to 1,200 for Wieters and 1,115 for Perez. Wieters has won the last two, so he’s the favorite here. Still, I…

Jose Abreu‘s reported $68 million deal with the White Sox isn’t even official yet and there are already lots of prominent media members questioning whether Chicago over-committed to an “untested” player with some question marks attached. I have no idea. I’ve seen Abreu play a couple times on television, I’ve read the same write-ups everyone…

Why wait until the offseason to sign dudes? The Chicago #Cubs sign Ryan Sweeney to a two year, $3.5 million deal — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 8, 2013 Sweeney hit .266/.324/.448 with six homers and 19 RBI in 212 plate appearances this season. The Cubs had signed him to a minor league deal and…

Dale Sveum seemed to know he was a goner as soon as team president Theo Epstein declined to comment on whether he’d be back for the final season of his contract in 2014 and now Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Cubs have fired Sveum. Sveum lasted two years with the Cubs, going 61-101…

Though a formality at this point, the Cardinals officially clinched the NL Central tonight with a 7-0 blanking of the Cubs. The offense got to Cubs starter Travis Wood early, scoring three times on a two-run double by Yadier Molina and an RBI single by Jon Jay. Wood exited after the first, as the one…

You know that dream where you are running and running but are not actually getting anywhere. I know people have all sorts of theories about this dream and what it means. Some say it indicates that you have too many things going in your life and can’t quite keep up. Some say it’s the body…

After another miserable season that saw him get dropped by the Red Sox and claimed off waivers by the Cubs right-hander Daniel Bard told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he’s considering pitching winter ball: There’s a good chance of it happening. We at least need the innings, just to have something going into…

Anthony Rizzo has been one of the most disappointing aspects of the Cubs’ season, as the 23-year-old first baseman has seen his OPS drop 60 points following a very promising first season in Chicago last year. He’s been particularly bad since June 1, hitting just .214 with 12 homers and a .692 OPS in 100…

The Braves entered the day with a magic number of one to clinch the NL East and eliminate the Washington Nationals from division title contention. If they could overcome Cubs starter Travis Wood, they could bust out the bubbly at Wrigley, but the Cubs had other ideas. Wood surrendered a run in the fourth on…

Word came down yesterday that the Cubs were considering releasing Kevin Gregg after he voiced his displeasure to the media about being removed from the closer role. However, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that he will remain with the club after Cubs president Theo Epstein accepted his apology this morning. It appears that…

Cubs closer Kevin Gregg went on a tirade in front of the media following this afternoon’s loss at the hands of the Braves at Wrigley Field. Gregg entered the top of the ninth to protect a 5-5 tie, but surrendered four runs in the inning en route to a 9-5 loss. After the game, he…

The Braves busted open a 5-5 game with four runs in the ninth to beat the Cubs 9-5 on Friday and clinch at least a tie in the NL East with the Nationals scheduled to play later tonight. All four runs in the ninth came after Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked by Kevin Gregg to…

Cubs catcher Welington Castillo needs surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his right knee and is done for the season. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports that Castillo’s recovery timetable is expected to be 4-6 weeks, so he’ll have plenty of time to get fully healthy for spring training. It’s a rough end to…

I wrote yesterday about how Cubs president Theo Epstein refuses to say that manager Dale Sveum will definitely be back next season despite being under contract. So what does Sveum think of his uncertain job status? When asked about Epstein’s various quotes leaving things up in the air, Sveum told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago…

The Roberto Clemente Award goes to the Major Leaguer who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.” Clayton Kershaw won it last year. The 2013 nominees — one per team — were just announced and are listed below. And now my annual complaint, albeit a minor one: Baseball has set…

It took 14 games and 50 trips to the plate, but first baseman Justin Morneau finally got his first RBI as a member of the Pirates this afternoon. His one-out, eighth-inning single to left drove in Andrew McCutchen to put the Buccos up 3-2. Morneau has yet to homer with his new club, and he…